Career Development Plan - Getting back into Ballet - Is it too late?

by Elizabeth Black
(Queensland, Australia)

Career Development Plan - Getting back into Ballet - Is it too late?

Hi Odette,

When I was 6 years old I started ballet classes. After some years of preparation I took my RAD Primary, Grade 1 and Grade 2 exams, receiving 92%,90% and 87% respectively. However, at age 7 I had taken up horse riding, and this had become my true passion by grade 3 (ballet). After an unfortunate clash with my ballet teacher, I chose to leave ballet to focus on my riding. One year later, I fell in love all over again and took ballet back up, unfortunatley with the same teacher. My teacher put me back in grade 2 (even though I had only been out for a year and the other girls my age were in grade 4) and even though I found the work easy, I had trouble adjusting to being a head taller than my classmates and at the end of the year seeng many of my friends going into pointe shoes. I gave up again to focus on my riding, aged 11. Ever since then, many people, riding instuctors and piano teachers included, have commented on my excellent posture and flexibility and I always felt that ballet was a huge contributing factor. Of recent times, however, I have noticed that my flexibilty has decreased dramatically and my posture leaves something to be desired. Over the past two years I have been craving getting back into dancing, as my horse riding has taken a back seat after some nasty falls and several trips to the hospital!!!! I am now 15 and really want to get back into ballet because even in my time out of leotards, I have still had a secret passion for the art. My question is: Do you think it's too late to get back into mainstream ballet classes, and if not, how should I go about it????

Thank you,

Elizabeth Black

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Reply by Odette
To:- Career Development Plan - Getting back into Ballet - Is it too late?

Hello Elizabeth Black,

Thanks for your message and telling me about yourself, it's really great to hear from you and I'm pleased you contacted me. No matter where it leads you, I still think it would be a great idea to take up ballet again because it sounds like something you are passionately interested in.

Everything in ballet takes time, so even if it's not too late for you it will still take a good few years of solid training to develop in your ballet technique.

There are ballet dancers who have started training more seriously at all different ages, like Melissa Hamilton and Misty Copeland. It is very much a case of what is possible in your circumstances to whether you can pursue your passion even more.

There are a few things you can ask yourself to help your thoughts: do your family support your passion to take ballet again more seriously? Are there ballet schools you could join? Can you find a teacher to help develop your ability?

Take it step by step and let me know your thoughts, keep in touch.

Best wishes,
Odette